Active maple seed flyer

ABSTRACT

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has a payload or body affixed at one end of an elongated airfoil. The entire airfoil/payload combination rotates about a center of mass to define a rotor disk. Thrust is provided by air-augmented rocket engine thrusting tangentially at a location remote from the payload. A control system maintains knowledge of its environment, as by a camera, to produce directional control signals which actuate lift control means in synchronism with the rotational position of the vehicle. A deployable object may be carried. Protection of the stowed vehicle is provided by blister packaging.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/717,361, filed Mar. 13, 2007, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to unmanned aerial vehicles, such as those usedfor surveillance, including helicopter-like “maple seed” or “monocopter”flying vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) includes attempts duringthe American civil war to attack targets by means of unmanned balloonscarrying explosive charges. These attempts were generally unsuccessful.During WWI, anti-aircraft gunnery target “drones” were controlled byradio. During WWII, the Japanese used the same balloon bomb techniqueagainst the continental United States, resulting in a few deaths. Alsoduring WWII, an Allied program “Operation Aphrodite” attacked surfacetargets with B-17 bombers converted into drones loaded with explosives.Guidance of the drone B-17s included radio control by a remote operatorwho viewed a television images from television cameras mounted in theaircraft. In the same general time period, other unmanned aerialvehicles included the German V1 weapons, which were generally unguidedin that they were not directed at specific targets, although they werecontrolled in that they were attitude-stabilized and followed a headingbefore running out of fuel and crashing. The V2 weapon was alsostabilized, and somewhat directionally controlled. More recently,unmanned aerial vehicles have included various missiles such assurface-to-air, air-to-surface, and air-to-air missiles, which are oftenwholly or partially autonomous, especially in the final attack phase.The Tomahawk “cruise” missile is preprogrammed with a course, andfollows the course using Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) positioningand comparison of local sensor data with a preprogrammed digital “map.”

Unmanned aerial vehicles have more recently been used for tacticalsurveillance. This type of vehicle includes the Firebee of Vietnam-warvintage, Hunter, and Pioneer. The Predator is currently in use forsurveillance and for other uses. The Predator uses a four-cylinderengine, has a wing span of 48 feet, a length of 27 feet, and a takeoffweight of 2250 lb. It can operate at altitudes of up to 25,000 feet,loiter for up to 40 hours, and in its surveillance role can carry acolor video camera, a synthetic-aperture radar, and other sensors. Inone of its roles, it can carry and launch Hellfire antitank missiles.The Global Hawk follows the Predator, and provides additionalcapability, such as a range of more than 12,000 nautical miles andaltitudes up to 65,000 feet. However, with a wingspan of 116 feet,length of 44 feet, and 26,000 lb. takeoff weight, it is larger than thePredator. This increased size and weight by comparison with the Predatorresults in a loiter duration of 24 hours. The Fire Scout is a recentlydeveloped reconnaissance and surveillance UAV based on a commercialmanned helicopter. The Fire Scout is capable of remote control and ofautonomous takeoff and landing from ships or prepared landing sites, andcan identify and designate targets. Recent work has been directed towardmounting weapons on the Fire Scout.

Ground troops at the small unit level cannot directly take advantage ofinformation resulting from surveillance by unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) such as Predator and Global Hawk. However, ground troops wouldbenefit from availability of small reconnaissance UAVs which couldexamine their local area under the control of the troops themselves, toreport directly to those troops. UAVs for such use suffer from variousproblems, including that they are regularly destroyed or lost duringoperation, can be damaged by physical abuse, dirt or water, at leastsome of which tend to be omnipresent in a combat situation. They alsotend to have limited range or loiter time, and often require specialtraining to operate. The Dragon Eye backpack reconnaissancetransportable UAV is less than two feet long, electrically powered withtwo propellers, and can be hand- or bungee-launched. Its weight is about5.5 lb. Its range or loiter time is limited by the capacity of thebatteries that can be carried.

Improved or alternative unmanned aerial vehicles are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus for flight according to an aspect of the inventioncomprises an airfoil with an attached payload, and propulsion meansassociated with the airfoil for rotating the airfoil and the attachedpayload, for thereby defining a rotor disk. The apparatus also comprisesphysical means for adjusting the lift of the airfoil, and control meanscoupled to the physical means for causing the lift adjustment of theairfoil to tilt the rotor disk. In one embodiment, the rotating airfoildefines a leading edge and a trailing or lagging edge, and the physicalmeans comprises means for ejecting gas at a location near the laggingedge in at least one plane which does not coincide with the plane of therotor disk. In a preferred embodiment, the means for ejecting gasincludes means for ejecting gas in a generally periodic manner in aplane not coincident with the plane of the rotor disk. In oneembodiment, the airfoil of the apparatus is elongated, and defines adistal end remote from the payload, and the propulsion means comprises asolid-fuel powered bypass jet, with an exhaust directed generallyperpendicular to an axis of the elongation of the airfoil. In oneversion, the exhaust is directed generally in the plane of the rotordisk. The transverse location of the exhaust may lie generally betweenthe distal end of the airfoil and the payload, or it may be at thedistal end of the airfoil.

According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for moving aload in a selected direction comprises an airfoil with a fixedlyattached payload, and propulsion means associated with the airfoil forrotating the airfoil and the attached load, for thereby rotating theairfoil to define a rotor disk. Physical means are provided foradjusting the lift of the airfoil. Control means are coupled to thephysical means for causing the lift adjustment of the airfoil to tiltthe rotor disk in a manner which moves the airfoil with the attachedload in the selected direction.

A flying apparatus according to another aspect of the invention is formoving a load. The apparatus comprises an airfoil with an attached loadfixed to the airfoil, and propulsion means associated with the airfoilfor rotating the airfoil and the attached load together, for therebydefining a rotor disk. Physical means are provided for adjusting thelift of the airfoil, and control means are coupled for causing the liftadjustment of the airfoil to provide at least one of collective andcyclic control.

A flying apparatus according to a further aspect of the inventioncomprises an airfoil with an attached load adjacent a first end of theairfoil, and a jet lying between the first and second ends of theairfoil for rotating the airfoil and attached load.

An apparatus for flight according to an aspect of the inventioncomprises an airfoil with a payload which is fixed to the airfoil, andpropulsion means associated with the airfoil for rotating the airfoiland the payload, thereby defining a rotor disk. The airfoil with payloadfixed thereto has no attached payload which rotates at a rate other thanthe rotation rate of the airfoil. Physical means adjust the lift of theairfoil, and control means are coupled to the physical means for causingthe lift adjustment of the airfoil to tilt the rotor disk.

An apparatus for flight comprises an airfoil with a fixedly attachedbody, where the airfoil and fixedly attached body together defining acenter of mass. The attached body includes payload attachment means forattaching a payload centered on the center of mass, which payload, whenattached, is fixedly attached to the body. A payload is coupled to thepayload attachment means, and propulsion means are associated with theairfoil for rotating the airfoil and the fixedly attached body, forthereby defining a rotor disk. Physical means are provided for adjustingthe lift of the airfoil. Control means are coupled to the physical meansfor causing the lift adjustment of the airfoil to tilt the rotor disk,and control means are provided for controlling the payload attachmentmeans for disengaging the body from the payload at selected one of (a)time and (b) location.

An apparatus for flight according to an aspect of the inventioncomprises an elongated airfoil with an attached payload, which airfoildefines a longitudinal axis. Propulsion means are associated with theairfoil for rotating the airfoil and the attached payload, for therebydefining a rotor disk. The propulsion means comprises means forgenerating gas under pressure and means for releasing the gas underpressure in a direction generally tangent to a radius of the rotor diskand from a location near an end of the airfoil. The propulsion means inone embodiment of this aspect of the invention comprises an ejectordriven by a fuel grain, and the fuel grain may generate hot gas which ispartially combustible. In another embodiment according to this aspect ofthe invention the means for generating gas under pressure comprises afuel grain which, in operation, creates partially combustible hot gasunder pressure, and a first ejector into which the partially combustiblehot gas under pressure is introduced, for mixing the partiallycombustible hot gas with atmospheric oxygen, to generate hot combustedgas. A second ejector receives the hot combusted gas, and heatsatmospheric gas to generate the gas under pressure.

A protective package according to another aspect of the invention is forindividually protecting flying vehicles. The protective packagecomprises a first piece defining a cavity larger in length, width anddepth than corresponding dimensions of the flying vehicle. A secondpiece is provided having dimensions sufficient to occlude the entiretyof the cavity. Means are provided for affixing the second piece to thefirst piece so as to define with the cavity a closed package containingthe flying vehicle. In one embodiment, at least one of the first plasticpiece and the second piece is transparent. Either the first piece or thesecond piece, or both, may be of a plastic material. The second piecemay be monolithically hinged to the first plastic piece to define aclamshell.

A protective package for accommodating a plurality of flying vehiclesaccording to the invention includes a first generally planar piecedefining a plurality, equal in number to the number of the plurality offlying vehicles, of individual open cavities. Each of the open cavitiesis dimensioned to accommodate one of the flying vehicles. The packagealso includes a second piece dimensioned to occlude the plurality ofindividual open cavities. The second piece is applied to the first pieceto occlude the open cavities and thereby define the plurality of closedcavities. Each of the closed cavities accommodates one of said flyingvehicles. The separate cavities may be separated by a perforated line toaid in separation of the blister-packed vehicles.

A method for storing flying vehicles according to a further aspect ofthe invention comprises the step of encapsulating each flying vehicle inshrink-wrap film, and heating the shrink-wrap film to cause the film toshrink about the flying vehicle.

Another method for storing flying vehicles according to an aspect of theinvention comprises the steps of placing a flying vehicle in each cavityof a sheet defining plural cavities, and applying a single second sheetover the open side of the plural cavities to form sealed chambers, eachholding one flying vehicle.

According to another aspect of the invention, the monocopter vehicleincludes retaining means for carrying a deployable payload object. Inone embodiment, the retaining means comprises a wall defining at leastpart of a chamber accommodating the deployable payload object. In oneversion, the wall includes a lip which aids in retaining the deployablepayload object, and in another, it includes a withdrawable latch. Yetanother version comprises a magnet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1A is a plan view of a vehicle according to an aspect of theinvention, partially cut away to reveal interior details, FIG. 1B isfirst side elevation thereof, FIG. 1C is a second side elevationthereof, and FIG. 1D illustrates a rotor disk swept by a rotatingstructure of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C;

FIG. 2 is a simplified representation of an engine which can be used inthe vehicle of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, with the engine represented laidout in a straight line for ease of comprehension;

FIG. 3A is a simplified plan view of a portion of the vehicle of FIGS.1A, 1B, and 1C, illustrating details of the storage of fuel for theengine of FIG. 2, FIG. 3B is a simplified cross-sectional view, laid outstraight, illustrating details of one possible structure of FIG. 3A, andFIG. 3C is similar to FIG. 3B, illustrating another possible structure;

FIG. 4A is a simplified logic flow chart or diagram illustrating how theflyer is controlled, and FIG. 4B illustrates a flyer with a line-scancamera in an environment including a street scene;

FIG. 5A is a simplified transverse cross-sectional view of an airfoil ofthe vehicle of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, showing a location for bleedingpressurized gas from the propulsion system, for selectively ejecting thepressurized gas at the trailing edge of the airfoil for increasing ordecreasing lift, FIG. 5B is a plan view at the location of FIG. 5Aillustrating the use of a plurality of ejection points for thepressurized gas, and FIGS. 5C and 5D together illustrate the effect ofthe jets on the airflow;

FIG. 6A is a simplified perspective or isometric view of an ejectablepayload object enclosed in hinged covers, and FIG. 6B is a plan view ofthe structure of FIG. 6A after entering the airstream upon deployment;

FIG. 7A illustrates one possible packaging method for flying vehicles,and FIG. 7B illustrates the result of the method;

FIG. 8A is a simplified perspective or isometric view of one possibleway to mount the deployable payload object of FIGS. 6A and 6B to thevehicle of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, and FIG. 8B is a plan view illustratingthe result of the mounting of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9 is a simplified perspective or isometric view of the bottomportion of the payload of the vehicle of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, togetherwith a deployable payload object, illustrating a possible retainingmeans;

FIG. 10A is a simplified plan view of the bottom surface of the payloadportion of the vehicle of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, showing an alternativestructure for deployment of the deployable payload object of FIGS. 6Aand 6B, FIG. 10B is a simplified perspective or isometric view thereof,and FIG. 10C is an end view of the structure of FIGS. 10A and 10B;

FIG. 11A is a simplified side elevation view of a portion of a vehiclesimilar to that of FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C illustrating retaining of adeployable payload object by means of a shaped memory actuator, FIG. 11Bis a simplified perspective or isometric view of the deployable objectof FIG. 11A, and FIG. 11C is a detail of the arrangement of FIG. 11Ashowing an alternative state; and

FIG. 12 is a notional illustration of various states in the deploymentof an embodiment of a deployable payload object.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Helicopters are well known in the art. A helicopter includes a body orpayload supported by a rotating airfoil or blade system. The rotatingblade system traces out, defines or subtends a rotor disk, which may beunderstood as producing vertical lift due to the action of the rotatingblade system. Each rotating blade of the rotating blade system is anairfoil which is controlled to contribute to the lift, thrust anddirectional control of the rotor disk, which in turn is imparted to thebody. The body, and anything it carries, may be viewed as being thepayload which the rotor disk supports. The airfoils of a typicalhelicopter are connected to a hub region driven by the engine, which islocated in the body. The torque applied to provide motion of theairfoils of the rotor disk, by Newton's laws, cause an equal andopposite torque tending to rotate the body in a direction opposite tothat of the airfoils. In order to provide a stationary platform, therotation of the body of the helicopter is normally controlled, as forexample by providing a tail rotor which tends to torque the body of thehelicopter in a direction opposite to that engendered by the airfoilrotation torque. Alternatively, coaxial, contrarotating propellers orrotor disks can reduce the torquing of the body, and some cargohelicopters use spaced-apart contrarotating rotor blades. Suchhelicopters with contrarotating rotor blades may not require powerfulauxiliary rotation devices to maintain their attitude.

In a typical helicopter, the rotor system includes a rotor head, rotorblades, and a control system that drives and controls the pitch anglesof the blade. An axis of rotation is an imaginary line that passesthrough a point on which the body rotates, where the plane of rotationis orthogonal to the axis of rotation. When a helicopter is flying in aparticular “forward” direction, the blades of a helicopter rotor diskalternately speed up (“advancing” blade) and slow down (“retreating”blade) relative to the average airflow, which tends to cause the liftprovided by each blade to vary with its rotational position, therebycausing a dissymmetry of lift. Control of the lift and directionalcontrol provided by the rotor disk tends to tilt the rotor disk (therebymoving its axis of rotation away from the vertical) to impart“horizontal” directional force as well as lift. This control may beprovided in part by a “swash plate” which is coupled to the blades tochange the angle of incidence of the blades as a function of rotationalposition relative to the body of the helicopter. The controls arereferred to as “collective,” which acts on all of the bladessimultaneously, and “cyclic,” which acts differentially on the blades asa function of rotational position. Thus, “collective” control tends toaffect the lift of the rotor disk as a whole, and “cyclic” control tendsto tilt the rotor disk. The art of aircraft, including helicopters, andof propellers and rotors, is well known.

According to an aspect of the invention, an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) without a separate fuselage has a payload or body affixed at oneend of a single elongated airfoil. The entire airfoil/payloadcombination rotates so that the airfoil traces out a rotor disk thatbehaves much as the rotor disk of a conventional helicopter. The rotordisk may be viewed as being the vehicle, and the rotor blade is simply alifting rotor. Thrust for rotating the rotor in one embodiment isprovided by a jet, which may be tip-mounted. In one advantageousembodiment, the thrust is provided by an air-augmented rocket enginethrusting tangentially at a location remote from the payload, andpreferably at that tip of the airfoil remote from the payload. In apreferred embodiment, a control system maintains knowledge of itsenvironment, as by a camera, magnetometer or functionally similar means,to produce directional control signals which actuate lift control meansin synchronism with the rotational position of the vehicle. Such acontrol system allows the vehicle to be directed in a preferred or“forward” direction, and also allows control of lift and therefore ofascent and decent.

FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C are top plan and first and second elevation views,respectively, of a vehicle according to an aspect of the invention. Thedescription herein may include relative placement or orientation wordssuch as “top,” “bottom,” “up,” “down,” “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,”“vertical,” “above,” “below,” as well as derivative terms such as“horizontally,” “downwardly,” and the like. These and other terms shouldbe understood as to refer to the orientation or position then beingdescribed, or illustrated in the drawing(s), and not to the orientationor position of the actual element(s) being described or illustrated.These terms are used for convenience in description and understanding,and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in thedescribed position or orientation. Terms concerning mechanicalattachments, couplings, and the like, such as “connected,” “attached,”“mounted,” refer to relationships in which structures are secured orattached to one another either directly or indirectly throughintervening structures, as well as both movable and rigid attachments orrelationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

In FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, a vehicle 10 includes an elongated airfoil orblade 12 defining a first or root end 12 ₁ and a second or tip end 12 ₂,and also defines a body or payload designated generally as 14, which isrigidly affixed to first end 12 ₁ of the airfoil 12. The combination ofthe airfoil 12 and the body or payload 14 has a center of massdesignated 8. The center of mass corresponds with the axis or center ofrotation 9 of the structure during operation. The structure defined byvehicle 10 has the same general shape as Samara, the winged fruit oftrees such as maples. The vehicle is designated Samarai, blending thename of the fruit with the term “samurai” or warrior. The Samarai is asingle-wing helicopter provided with power, flight stabilization, anddirectional control.

Multiple-rotor fuselage-less flying vehicles are known. The concept of afuselage-less single-blade air vehicle has been known per se since atleast the 1970s, as exemplified by the “Maple Seed” toy aircraft,conceived and marketed by Ned Allen. U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,069 was issuedon Dec. 22, 1992 in the name of Litos et al., disclosing a toyautorotating flyer having the same general configuration as that shownin FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. A major advantage of such structures is thatthey are inherently stable aerodynamically. This toy and other like toysare not useful for surveillance or reconnaissance applications becausethey autorotate only under the influence of gravity, and can basicallyonly “fly” in a downward direction. For surveillance and reconnaissancepurposes, a flying vehicle must be able to at least controllably ascendand proceed in a desired direction. It is advantageous if it can also becontrolled to descend. The prior art also includes a rocket-powered“monocopter” flying vehicle, a video of which is available atwww.apogeerockets.com/monocopter_movie.asp.

The preferred engine components for powering the vehicle of FIGS. 1A,1B, and 1C are illustrated in FIG. 2. The engine falls into the class ofair-augmented rockets (AAR), which are well understood in the art. Theengine components will be machined or otherwise formed fromhigh-temperature material, such as nickel. The AAR approach allows muchof the oxidizer required for combustion to be off-loaded, and suppliedby atmospheric oxygen harvested from the air. Thus, the oxidizer mass ofthe fuel grain(s) can be less than is usual in a solid-fuel rocketengine. The propulsive efficiency is maximized by the use of airinjection and exhaust mass flow augmentation and deceleration, and thespecific energy should be comparable to that of a liquid-fuel-basedsystem, and much greater than that of batteries, supercapacitors, orfuel cells.

In FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, the vehicle 10 includes an air-augmentedsolid-fuel rocket engine designated generally as 210. Engine 210includes three stages: an initial stage in which the fuel grain isignited and burned generating hot high-pressure, fuel-rich gas thatexhausted from a nozzle into a second stage. The second stage comprisesa supersonic ejector in which the hot, fuel-rich gas from the firststage entrains additional air and establishes a normal shock wave acrossthe throat of that ejector which then allows the second stage to burnthe fuel-rich gas creating additional pressure and thrust power. Theexhaust from the second stage passes into a third stage, a simplesubsonic, thrust augmentation ejector that dilutes the hot exhaust withmore air cooling it and increasing the mass flow further. FIG. 2 is asimplified illustration of the rocket engine 210 which powers thevehicle 10 of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. It should be understood that therocket as illustrated in FIG. 2 is set out along a straight axis 208 forease of understanding, but fitting it into the flying vehicle 10 ofFIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C requires that it be somewhat bent to match thecurved shape of the leading wing edge 12 e of airfoil 12. In FIG. 2, thesolid propellant or fuel uses gas-generating power technology. The fuelgrain is any grain that produces hot gases that are in part combustible,such as Thiokol type TP-H-3433. The solid propellant lies in acombustion chamber 212 of FIG. 2, where an electrical squib (329 of FIG.3B) begins a slow combustion. The combustion 213 in chamber 212 producesgas which is more than 50% combustible, and where the temperature isabove the ignition temperature of all of the combustible components. Thehot combustible gas flows through a nozzle 224 which powers a compressoror primary ejector (which is the essence of the second stage). Thiscompressor is powered by the high-velocity (ideally mach 6 or greater)hot combustible gas from nozzle 224, and entrains an external air flow228 at an air intake port 229. The hot combustible gas and the entrainedair enter a mixing chamber 230 defined by walls 226. The gas flowvelocity in the mixing chamber 230 exceeds the flame propagationvelocity, so the hot combustible gas does not combust in the mixingchamber, but is mixed and compressed by the narrowing cross-section neara normal shock compressor 240. The entrained air should have about threetimes the mass, or more, of the hot gas from nozzle 224. The preciseratio is a design selection that determines the supersonic ejectorperformance in terms of compression ratio. The hot gas-air mixturepasses through a normal shock compressor 240 and enters a secondarycombustion chamber or diffuser 252 defined by walls 250. The products ofsecondary combustion in chamber 252 are introduced into a secondaryejector 266 defined by walls 262, entraining a flow 264 of additionalair at an air input port 264, again at a 3:1 mass ratio, which air isheated by the products of secondary combustion to generate additionalgas expansion. The resulting expanded gases under pressure (GUP) leaveejector chamber 266 and flow from an orifice 270 to provide thrust alonga tangent 12 t to the rotating tip end 122 of the airfoil or wing 12.This thrust rotates (10R) the structure 10 of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C,including the payload 14, and the rotating structure 10 traces out orsubtends a rotor disk 99 about it center of rotation 9, as illustratedin FIG. 1D. Each of the ejectors of engine 210 results in approximatelya three-to-one dilution of the hot exhaust gas with air, the full effectbeing a nine-fold increase in the mass flow and a reduction in theexhaust velocity which increases the thrust efficiency. This tends togreatly increase the mission time including time on station bycomparison with a simple rocket or single-stage ejector. The twodistinct types of ejectors are desirable as is the combustion processbetween them in order to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness.Experience and analysis have shown that no single ejector can offer morethan about three-to-one mass flow augmentation efficiently, so if a9-to-one augmentation efficiency is desired, two ejectors in series arerequired. Moreover, experience has shown that the mixing associated witha single ejector tends to consume so much of the enthalpy in the flowthat secondary combustion between ejector stage stages becomes desirableto restore it if adequate thrust is to be achieved. If combustionbetween the ejectors is required, the upstream ejector must operate as apump and develop a pressure gradient in order to prevent back firingfrom the secondary combustion. The final ejector can operate at constantpressure device as a simple subsonic mixer provided there no substantialbackpressure.

The solid fuel grain for the rocket motor or jet 210 of FIG. 2 is a longcylindrical prism coiled into a continuous spiral to conserve space, orformed into concentric circles of decreasing size toward the center,surrounding the center of mass 8 of FIG. 1A. The spiral-wound orconcentric-ring solid fuel grains lie in a circular area 50 as seen inFIG. 1A, and in regions 50 a and 50 b as illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 1C.

FIG. 3A illustrates details of the propellant or fuel storage of thestructure 10 of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. In FIG. 3A, the region in whichthe fuel grains are stored is designated 50. Each fuel grain is locatedwithin a tube or a hollowed-out groove within a refractory material, aset 310 of three of which are illustrated, namely 310 a, 310 b, and 310c. It will be appreciated that more or fewer tubes than three can beused. The tubes of set 310 are coiled around the center of mass 8 of thevehicle. A fuel gas manifold 224 connects the openable ends of the tubesof set 310, and leads the combustible gas into the first ejector housing226. The actual first ejector air intake is designated 229. FIG. 3Billustrates the general shape of a fuel grain tube, designated 310 c fordefiniteness, laid out in a straight line. In FIG. 3B, the metal tubewall is designated 310 cw and the solid fuel grain is designated 310 cg.The fuel grain is the Thiokol type TP-H-3433, or similar, which whenignited by an igniter illustrated as 329 begins partial combustion atthe exposed face, generating hot combustible gas. The hot combustiblegas enters manifold 224 for energizing the primary ejector 224, 226, 230of FIG. 2. Fuel ignition is begun in one of the tubes of set 310 bysquibs or semiconductor bridge initiators, known in the art. Suchinitiators operate quickly, on the order of 100 microseconds (μs), andrequire only about 3 millijoules (mJ) of energy. Once a grain isburning, it is virtually impossible to stop. Some control of the lengthof burn is achieved by making the grains short, and since they arepositioned in parallel, a fresh one can be ignited just before the endof burn of the previous grain, or, if desired, the current grain can beallowed to burn itself out without igniting another. The burn rate of asolid fuel grain such as 310 cg of FIG. 3B depends upon the pressure atthe face. Some control of the pressure can be achieved by a controllableorifice, such as an orifice 218 illustrated by a valve symbol. Any typeof microelectromechanical valve can be used to adjust the pressure. Morecontrol of the pressure may be possible with an arrangement such as thatillustrated in FIG. 3C, in which the fuel grain 310 cg defines an openaxial bore 310 cb which extends the full length of the grain. Thepressure-controlling valve 218 is affixed to that end of tube wall 310cw remote from the ignition device 329 and the manifold 224. Thisarrangement allows the pressure at the burn face to be adjusted tothereby throttle the rocket/ejector apparatus.

In order to prevent cross-ignition of the fuel grains at the manifold312 of FIG. 3, each fuel grain must be insulated sufficiently from itsneighboring grains to prevent inadvertent ignition. The refractorymaterial that houses and surrounds the fuel grain must have sufficientinsulation value to accomplish this task. Any of the refractory oxidesknown in the art (e.g., alumina, zirconia, etc) can serve here.Additional cooling passages can be added if desired when usingespecially hot fuels or fuels with low ignition temperatures.

Takeoff of the vehicle 10 of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, powered by a rocketor jet engine, may be aided by a launching device which brings thevehicle 10 up to full rotational speed and ignites the engine when fullspeed has been reached, in order to conserve on fuel, but this is notbelieved to be mandatory. The provision of such a launching device isbelieved to be a simple matter easily made by a person skilled in theart.

FIG. 1A illustrates by 40 a possible location for a solid-statemicrochip radio/television transceiver (transmitter/receiver). Thoseskilled in the art know that the efficiency of an antenna in transducingsignal is dependent, in part, upon its dimensions. Ideally,communications with the vehicle 10 occur at frequencies at which theavailable antenna dimensions are sufficient to transduce signals with anefficiency which allows reliable communication with the outside worldwith an amount of electrical power available from an on-board thin-filmbattery 42. Moreover, the antenna can be fitted with a backplane orreflector to further improve efficiency. Also, transmission may bepulsed so that a directed beam is emitted from the Samarai only when theantenna is facing the right direction.

Block 44 of FIG. 1A represents microchip television camera and otherimaging sensors and electronics which are powered by the battery 42. Theimages and sensed signals may include part of the information for whichthe reconnaissance is performed, so the image and sensor informationfrom block 44 may be coupled to the transceiver 40 for transmission tothe home base.

In one embodiment of the vehicle 10 of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, the lengthof the vehicle from the center of rotation 9 to the tip end 12 ₂ of theairfoil 12 is expected to be 3.5 centimeters. The weight of the vehicle10 with payload and full load of fuel (2 grams of Thiokol type TP-H-3433or similar) is expected to be in the region of 10 grams, including adeployable or ejectable 2-gram payload. The spin rate is expected to be250 Hz, the disk loading 0.25 kg/m², and the endurance not less than 20minutes.

Navigation and proximity sensors are represented in FIG. 1A by microchipset 46. One of the problems associated with a vehicle according to anaspect of the invention is that the entire body and rotor rotate, sothat any sensors incorporated into the structure and which are used fornavigation and or control are spinning about the axis or rotation 9(FIG. 1B). According to an aspect of the invention, the rotation rate ofthe craft is determined by the use of a video or television camera whichviews the outside world, and recurrently sees the same features of theenvironment as the vehicle spins. This information is used forestimating or determining the spin speed or rate. A clock in an on-boardprocessor determines the angle of the rotor blade relative to the rotordisk using the spin information derived from the camera. A line-scantelevision camera produces images representing 360° around theenvironment of the vehicle, including image portions representing the“forward” direction. Real-time imagery in the forward direction can begenerated by “de-spinning” the image. The de-spinning can beaccomplished on-board, or can be offloaded to an external controller.The controller in such a case would require knowledge of the spin rateand the rotor blade angle relative to the rotor disk. As an alternativeto a line-scan camera, a CCD chip could “snap” a picture at that time atwhich it faces forward to thereby produce visual signals. In eithercase, the image information can be used for autonomous control ortransmitted to a remote controller for external instructions. Ideally,the vehicle stability control and detailed aspects of the altitude,direction, and attitude control would be controlled autonomously by thevehicle, leaving only higher-level instructions to the externalcontroller. Such higher-level instructions might include heading andaltitude, or go-right/go-left instructions, without detailed attitudeinstructions. Autonomous control would also be advantageous for enginethrust control and propellant usage minimization.

The art of remote control and autonomous control of flying vehicles,including helicopters, is well advanced. FIG. 4A is a simplified blockdiagram of a controller responsive to images from a line-scan camera 446of FIG. 4B to determine the spin, and for communicating with anautonomous controller 448 or by radio (or equivalent) 449 with a remotecontrol source 450. FIG. 4B illustrates a flyer such as 10 of FIG. 1Acarrying a line-scan camera 446 which repeatedly scans a line 447 acrossa street scene illustrated as 444. A vertical edge 442 in the scene, orany other vertical edge, can be used as a reference. In general, the“forward” direction is determined by estimating the angle of the airfoilor blade relative to the rotor disk using a precision clock in anon-board processor synchronized with the rotation rate and phase. Thearrangement of FIG. 4A receives a scene input from the scanning camera446, as suggested by block 412, and produces a signal which representsthe angle of the rotor blade relative to an arbitrarily selected “front”direction. A block 414 represents the synchronization of a virtual clocksignal with the repeating image, and the identification of one or morereference vertical features of the scent. The stabilized sceneinformation is transmitted to a remote control location, as suggested byblock 449. Block 416 represents the correlation of the data extractedfrom the camera image with data from other sensors, such as ahorizontally-disposed laser range finder or magnetometer. Block 418represents the controlled actuation of gas valves, as described in moredetail in conjunction with FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D to implement motionin the selected “forward” direction. The “forward” direction informationis provided from block 416 to an autonomous controller illustrated as ablock 448. Remote-control and autonomous systems for control of unmannedhelicopter vehicles are known. The principles of such systems can beadapted for use with a vehicle according to an aspect of the invention.When operating autonomously, controller 448 produces signals which areultimately made available to the control valve subroutine of block 418to control the attitude and direction of the vehicle.

The line-scan image is stabilized by addressing the image informationusing the tracking clock described in conjunction with FIG. 4. A portionof the image is selected as representing the “front” view, and furthercontrol uses this information to aid in navigation. A 128-pixelvertical-line scan camera is believed to be sufficient to provide apicture with sufficient resolution to allow an operator to guide thevehicle into tight spaces, while placing a relatively low load on thecommunication system. Bandwidth compression techniques can be used ifdesired when transmitting the camera pictures.

As so far described, the vehicle is spinning in an aerodynamicallystable manner, and the “forward” direction of travel is known.Instructions are generated either autonomously or from an externalcontroller to proceed in some selected direction. For simplicity, anexplanation of the forward direction is selected. In order to cause thevehicle to move in the selected direction, the rotor disk must tiltrelatively upward at the “rear,” or downward at the “front.” In orderfor the rotor disk to tilt, the rotating airfoil or blade must exhibitdifferential lift. More particularly, the lift when the airfoil is atthe 180° (rearward) position on the rotor disk must be greater than thelift when the airfoil is at the 0° (forward) position on the rotor disk.Control of the lift of the airfoil is accomplished according to anaspect of the invention by selectively ejecting pressurized gas from thetrailing edge of the airfoil in a direction selected to increase ordecrease lift, as a function of angular position of the airfoil or bladerelative to the rotor disk. FIG. 5A is a simplified diagram representinga cross-section of the airfoil or blade of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C at alocation designated 5-5 in FIG. 1A. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, thehousing 262 of chamber 266 opens at this particular cross-section into atube-fed manifold arrangement 512, 514. Chamber 266 provides relativelycool, pressurized gas by way of manifold 514 to a pair ofmicroelectromechanical valves 521, 522. Valves 521 and 522, whenelectrically energized, allow the flow of the pressurized gas toupwardly-directed jet 531 and downwardly-directed jet 532. Jets 531 and532 are mounted at or immediately adjacent to the trailing edge 12 te ofthe airfoil 12. FIG. 5C is a simplified cross-sectional view similar toFIG. 5A, illustrating only valve 532 and upwardly-directed jet 531,during a time at which the valve 532 is closed to prevent the flow ofgas to the jet. Under this condition, the streamlines, illustrated as550, flow smoothly over the region of jet 531. The upwardly directed jet531, when valve 521 is opened to allow gas to flow, directs the flow ofgas in an upwardly skewed plane 598 u relative to the rotor plane, asillustrated in FIG. 5A. This creates a separation or steering bubble 560adjacent jet 531 as illustrated in FIG. 5D. The separation bubble forcesthe airflow, as represented by streamlines 550, up and over the bubble560. The effect is equivalent to adding more camber to the airfoil atthe location of the jet 531, thereby increasing the lift at that point.Moving the chordwise lift distribution toward the trailing edge changesthe pitching moment balance and causes the airfoil to pitch nose down,thereby reducing angle of attack of the airfoil and its overall liftproduction. Downwardly-directed jet 532 of FIG. 5A directs the gas tothe underside of the airfoil and performs the symmetrically oppositefunction as 531 for the upper surface. In a preferred embodiment, onlyone valve and jet, say 521 and 531, is needed—the other being redundant.In order to tilt the rotor disk to direct the vehicle in the forwarddirection, the lift of the airfoil is increased when at the 180°(rearward) position on the rotor disk, by closing microelectromechanicalvalve 521 to cut off the supply of gas to jet 531, thereby reducing thenose-down torque on the airfoil, allowing its angle of attack toincrease and its lift production to increase. A half-rotation later,when the airfoil is at the 0° (forward) position on the rotor disk, theprocess is reversed: valve 521 is open, gas is flowing into the bubbleincreasing the downwash from the trailing edge and thus the nose downtorque, reducing the angle of attack and the lift. The valve or valvesis (are) actually operated many times as the airfoil advances around thestations of the compass, so that the size of surface bubble waxes andwanes evenly, or nearly so, during each circuit of the airfoil. Thus,the rotor disk experiences increased lift at its rearmost position andrelatively decreased lift at its forward portion. The resulting tilt ofthe rotor disk causes the vehicle to tend to move in the selectedforward direction.

FIG. 5B is a simplified plan view of a portion of a region of theairfoil 12 of FIG. 5A, partially cut away to reveal interior details. InFIG. 5B, it can be seen that controllable valve 521 can control thecompressed gas to a plurality of upwardly-directed jets, designated 531a, 531 b, 531 c, 531 d, and 531 e, spaced along the trailing edge 12 teof the airfoil 12. If desired, a control valve equivalent to valve 514can be used to separately control the flow of compressed gas to each ofthe individual upwardly-directed jets 531 a, 531 b, 531 c, 531 d, and531 e. It will be understood that there may be a plurality ofdownwardly-directed jets, controlled by valve 522 in the same manners asdescribed for the upwardly-directed jets.

As so far described, the vehicle is adapted to reconnaissance by virtueof its ability to fly into desired regions, and to use sensors to reportconditions at the desired locations. The television camera can providevery valuable information to a remotely located operator. The “payload”as so far described has been the body portion which is fixed to the rootend of the airfoil, and which carries the various sensors. It maysometimes be advantageous to be able to drop an object, such as a remotesensor, from the airborne vehicle. The conventional name for such anobject is also “payload.” In order to avoid confusion, the objectdropped is called an “object.” Referring again to FIG. 1B, an ejectablepayload object is illustrated as a disk-like object designated 14 ep,which is attached or affixed to the “bottom” of the payload portion 14of the vehicle 10. FIG. 6A is a simplified illustration of a payloadobject 14 ep in its stowed state, suitable for being transported by thevehicle, and FIG. 6B is an illustration of the payload object 14 ep in astate following deployment or ejection from the vehicle. In the stowedstate illustrated in FIG. 6A, the payload object 14 ep has the form of aright circular cylinder defined around an axis 608. The payload object14 ep incorporates first and second “drag wings” 610 a and 610 b,respectively, folded against the sides of the payload object. Thesewings are hinged so that they can open to extend radially outward fromthe payload object when the payload object is released from the body ofthe vehicle. First drag wing 610 a defines a semiannular side wall 610asw and half-circular top wall or surface 610 aus. First half drag wing610 a is hinged to the underlying structure by a vertically disposedhinge 610 ah. Similarly, second drag wing 610 b defines a semiannularside wall 610 bsw and an upper half-circle top wall or surface 610 bus.Second drag wing 610 b is also hinged to the underlying structure by avertically disposed hinge, a portion of which is illustrated as 610 bh.The first and second semiannular side walls are separated from eachother by a separation, part of which is designated 620.

FIG. 6B is a simplified top view illustrates the state of the payloadobject 14 ep of FIG. 6A after it is deployed or ejected from the vehicle10 of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. Since the vehicle 10 spins in normal flight,the deployable payload object 14 ep also spins. On release of thepayload object from the vehicle body, the drag wings spring openassisted by centrifugal forces and quickly reduce the rotational energyand rotation rate (the rotation energy is proportional to the square ofthe rotation rate, so the energy drops off faster than the rate. When soopened or deployed, the drag wings act as anti-spin spoilers or airbrakes, which tend to reduce the spin. Reduction of spin is desirable toaid in precise placement of the payload object 14 ep in the target area,by preventing the object from “skittering” and moving uncontrollablyenergy. This skittering is also reduced by the fact that the drag wingsare fashioned from an elastic material, as opposed to or vice a rigidmaterial, so that they absorb shock. On contact with an alightmentsurface, the drag wings are torn away revealing an adhesive 614 of FIG.6B, that helps the payload object remain where it lands.

It will be clear that if the anti-spin spoiler or drag wings of thepayload object are exposed to the airstream while the payload object isbeing carried, the drag wings will open spontaneously, which mightintroduce excessive rotational drag while the payload object is stillattached to the airfoil/payload combination. FIG. 8A is a simplifiedperspective or isometric view of a payload 14 portion of a flyingvehicle 12, showing the bottom surface 14 bs of the payload 14. A wallarrangement 810 includes an attached pair of partially circular orsemicircular walls 810 a, 810 b, which together define a generallycylindrical cavity 812, having at least a diameter suitable toaccommodating the payload object 14 ep. The function of the walls 810 a,810 b is to prevent wind action from seizing the drag wings 610 a, 610 band opening them during flight. The height or projection of the walls810 a, 810 b can be the same as the height of the right circularcylinder defined by the payload object 14 ep, in which case the dragwings 610 a, 610 b are pretty much protected against wind. As analternative, the height of walls 810 a, 810 b can be less than theheight of the right circular cylinder defined by payload object 14 ep,in which case the drag wings are partially protected from wind. Beingonly partially protected, there might be some forces tending to open thedrag wings 610 a, 610 b, but they cannot open in any case because of thepresence of the walls 810 a, 810 b standing in the path of opening. FIG.8B is a plan view of the lower surface of the structure of FIG. 8A,showing the walls 810 a, 810 b. As an alternative, the two walls 810 a,810 b may be joined by additional wall segments so as to define acomplete 360° enclosure, thereby providing more protection against wind.

The payload object 14 ep can be held to the underside 14 bs of thepayload of the vehicle 10 by a magnetic device. If the payload object 14ep includes a magnetically permeable material, a simple electromagnetmounted on the bottom or lower surface 14 bs can hold the payload objectin place until such time as ejection or deployment is desired. FIG. 9 isan exploded perspective or isometric view illustrating, in notionalform, a controllable electromagnet 910 associated with the bottom orpayload-object-supporting side of the payload body 14 of the vehicle 10.FIG. 9 also illustrates the payload object 14 ep with a magneticallypermeable portion 812, which is either inherently part of the payloadobject, or is added to allow controlled stowage, carriage anddeployment. The magnetically permeable portion 812 is centered on thatside or surface 14 epus of the payload object 14 ep which faces thebottom surface 14 bs of the payload 14 of the vehicle 10, where it caninteract with electromagnet 910. When the electromagnet 910 is actuated,the deployable payload object 14 ep is held to the vehicle 10, and whenthe electromagnet 910 is deenergized, the deployable payload object isreleased or deployed. If the magnetically permeable portion 812 holdssome remanent field, deployment might be aided by reversing the magneticfield of electromagnet 910, thereby tending to repel the deployablepayload object 14 ep.

As an alternative to the electromagnet described in conjunction withFIG. 9, the deployable payload 14 ep might be mounted and held slightlyaway from the center of mass of the vehicle 10, so that some smallcentrifugal force tends to eject the deployable payload object. Amicroelectromechanical latch can hold the deployable payload objectagainst the small force, but release it when actuated. This would tendto fling the deployable payload object in a direction related to therotational position of the vehicle at the time that themicroelectromechanical latch releases the deployable payload object 14ep, which might be advantageous for some scenarios. FIG. 10A is a planview of the bottom surface 14 bs of the payload or body portion 14 of avehicle 10 which illustrates one possible way to accomplish the desiredresult. In FIG. 10A, the bottom surface 14 bs of the payload portion 14bears a retaining and wind-protecting wall 1010, which includes acircular portion centered on a point 1012, somewhat displaced in thedirection of arrow 1014 from the center of mass 9 of the vehicle 10. Theright-circular-cylindrical deployable payload object 14 ep lies againstthe circular portion of wall 1010, and slightly offset from the centerof mass 9. Rotation of the vehicle 10 tends to cause a force tending tomove the deployable payload object 14 ep in the direction of arrow 1014.Movement of the deployable payload object 14 ep in the direction ofarrow 1014 from the illustrated rest position is prevented by one ormore microelectromechanical trip devices designated together as 1016.These devices when holding the deployable payload object project fromthe bottom surface 14 bs of the payload portion 14 of the vehicle,preventing the deployable object from moving in the direction of arrow1014. When tripped, the trip device(s) 1016 are either ejected orwithdrawn under surface 14 bs, in either case releasing the deployablepayload object 14 ep to move in the direction of arrow 1014 under theimpetus of inertial forces, thereby accomplishing the deployment. FIG.10B is a perspective or isometric view of the arrangement of FIG. 10A,showing that the side walls 1010 affixed to the lower surface of theflyer 10 may have retaining lips 1050 which overhang a portion of thedeployable payload object 14 ep to retain it in place, allowing egressonly by way of the “opening” 1040. As illustrated in FIG. 10B, theretaining trip devices are three in number. FIG. 10C is an end view ofthe structure of FIG. 10B looking in the direction of section lines 10c-10 c.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C illustrate another arrangement for stowing thedeployable payload object 14 ep. In FIGS. 11A and 11B, the deployablepayload object 14 ep includes at least one retaining tab or tang 1114which fits under an overhanging lip portion 1114L. The deployablepayload object also defines a shaped depression 1014 d (not visible inFIG. 11B). When the deployable payload object 14 ep of FIG. 11A ismounted to the air vehicle body 14, the retaining tang can be fittedunder lip 1114L as illustrated in FIG. 11A, and the other side of thepayload object 14 ep can be fitted into a recess 14 r with shapeddepression 1114 d aligned with a retaining latch 1120. The retaininglatch 1120 can be a shape memory actuator which can be energized bypiezoelectric effects, magneto-resistive effects, or thermal heatingeffects, as known in the art. The retaining latch 1120 assumes thelocked position illustrated in FIG. 11A, and can be energized to theunlocked position illustrated in FIG. 11C, which releases the latch 1120from the shaped depression 1014 d to thereby release the deployablepayload object 14 ep of FIG. 11A from the body 14. A spring or othermechanical energy storage device 1124 provides a mechanical bias whichtends to urge the deployable payload object 14 ep away from contact withthe vehicle body 14.

FIG. 12 illustrates a notional deployment of a deployable payloadobject. In FIG. 12, the drag wings 610 a, 610 b of the deployablepayload object 14 ep are initially retained in place by a shape memoryring 1212. Relaxation of the shape memory ring allows the drag wings todeploy and they spring open, whereupon the spin rate slows. When thedrag wings are fully deployed, the spin energy decreases rapidly.Eventually, the deployed payload object 14 ep alights on an alightingsurface 1214; the drag wings are knocked off by the impact or by theshearing force of adjacent objects. The contact adhesive is exposed bythe removed wings, and tends to cause the vehicle to stay at the site atwhich it alights.

The altitude of the vehicle above the local terrain can be establishedby the inclusion among the sensors in region 46 of FIG. 1 of adownward-looking “radar” altimeter. Since the wavelengths of radarsignals tend to be relatively large by comparison with the size of thevehicle, it is anticipated that a light-operated “lidar” equivalent willbe used. The principles of lidars are well known in the art. Themeasured altitude can be transmitted to the remote controller oroperator who can use the information to aid in control if the vehiclecannot be directly observed. As an alternative, the measured altitudecan be provided to an autonomous navigation controller. The autonomouscontroller can use the altitude information from the lidar to increaseor decrease the lift of the rotor disk in order to maintain a givenaltitude or to follow an altitude program.

While a downward-looking lidar altitude determination can give altitude,a side-looking lidar rangefinder can provide a rotating scan fordetermining proximity of surrounding objects such as trees or largerocks in an outdoor setting, or walls in an interior context. Thissimply requires correlating the scanned proximity information with therotation rate which is known from the scanning optical camera. As analternative, the scanning proximity signal can itself be used to aid indetermining the rotation rate in much the same fashion as that for thescanning camera, by noting the recurrence rate of objects at particulardistances.

One of the problems with existing reconnaissance flying vehicles is thatof protecting them in the interim between initiation of a ground forceaction and the later time at which the flying vehicle is used during theoperation. It will be appreciated that a flying vehicle must beprotected against mud, water, and extreme shock notwithstanding that theparticular trooper carrying the vehicle is exposed to these conditions.According to an aspect of the invention, the flying vehicle(s) is (are)protected by a common blister pack which is preferably hermetic or atleast very tight. The blister pack may be individual, or may be amultiple pack such as those potable packs in which medical tablets orcapsules are stored for later use. FIG. 7A shows the elements of ablister pack before closing, and FIG. 7B is a side elevation view of thestructure of FIG. 7A in its assembled state. As illustrated in FIG. 7A,a first piece 710 in the form of a sheet defines a set 710 of aplurality of open cavities or depressions 710 ca, 710 cb, 710 cc, 710cd, and 710 ce. A generally flat cover sheet 712 is dimensioned to coverthe cavity(ies) of set 710. The individual flyers 10 a, 10 b, 10 c, 10d, and 10 e are placed in cavities 710 ca, 710 cb, 710 cc, 710 cd, and710 ce, respectively, and the cover sheet 712 is affixed to the flatportions of piece 710 with some kind of adhesive, illustrated as asurface 714. As an alternative to the use of adhesive, the two pieces710, 712 can be welded as by ultrasonic or heat, to for closed cavities.If desired, a bit of foam or other resilient material can be placed ineach cavity before closing to restrain the flying vehicle againstmovement within the cavity.

While the thrust provided by nozzle or jet 270 of FIG. 1A is near thedistal end or tip end 12 ₂ of the airfoil or wing 12, those skilled inthe art know that the nozzle or jet may be at a location lying betweenthe tip end 12 ₂ and the root end 12 ₁, but that less torque will bedeveloped for a given thrust. Some embodiments of the vehicle 10 mayinclude photovoltaic “solar” panels or cells for augmenting the on-boardbatteries with locally produced power. It might even be possible torecharge the batteries of a vehicle after a period of rest while exposedto sunlight. Another version might incorporate high-efficiencythermophotonic or thermophotovoltaic cells, positioned adjacent the fuelgrains to take advantage of the heat generated therein during operation.

An apparatus for flight (10) according to an aspect of the inventioncomprises an airfoil (12) with an attached payload (14, 14 ep), andpropulsion means (210) associated with the airfoil (12) for rotating theairfoil (12) and the attached payload (14, 14 ep), for thereby defininga rotor disk (99). The apparatus (10) also comprises physical means(510) for adjusting the lift of the airfoil (12), and control means(410, 510) coupled to the physical means (510) for causing the liftadjustment of the airfoil (12) to tilt the rotor disk (99). In oneembodiment, the rotating airfoil (12) defines a leading edge (12 e) anda trailing or lagging (12 te) edge, and the physical means (510)comprises means (512, 514, 521, 522, 531 a, 531 b, . . . ) for ejectinggas at a location (533) near the trailing edge (12 te) in at least oneplane (598 u, 598 d) which does not coincide with, or is skewed relativeto, the plane of the rotor disk (99). In a preferred embodiment, themeans (512, 514, 521, 522, 531 a, 531 b, . . . ) for ejecting gasincludes means for ejecting gas in a generally periodic manner in theplane not coincident (598 u, 598 d) with the rotor (99). In oneembodiment, the airfoil (12) of the apparatus is elongated, and definesa distal end (12 ₂) remote from the payload (14, 14 ep), and thepropulsion means (210) comprises a solid-fuel powered bypass jet, withan exhaust directed (12 t) generally perpendicular to an axis (8) of theelongation of the airfoil (12). In one version, the exhaust is directedgenerally in the plane of the rotor disk (99). The transverse locationof the exhaust may lie generally between the distal end (12 ₂) of theairfoil (12) and the payload (14, 14 ep), or it may be at the distal end(12 ₂) of the airfoil (12).

According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus (10) formoving a load in a selected direction comprises an airfoil (12) with afixedly attached payload (14, 14 ep), and propulsion means (210)associated with the airfoil (12) for rotating the airfoil (12) and theattached load (14, 14 p), for thereby rotating the airfoil (12) todefine a rotor disk (99). Physical means (510) are provided foradjusting the lift of the airfoil (12). Control means (410, 510) arecoupled to the physical means (510) for causing the lift adjustment ofthe airfoil (12) to tilt the rotor disk (99) in a manner which moves theairfoil (12) with the attached load in the selected direction.

A flying apparatus (10) according to another aspect of the invention isfor moving a load (14, 14 p). The apparatus (10) comprises an airfoil(12) with an attached load (14, 14 p) fixed to the airfoil (12), andpropulsion means (210) associated with the airfoil (12) for rotating theairfoil (12) and the attached load (14,14 p) together, for therebydefining a rotor disk (99). Physical means (510) are provided foradjusting the lift of the airfoil (12), and control means (410, 510) arecoupled for causing the lift adjustment of the airfoil (12) to provideat least one of collective and cyclic control.

A flying apparatus (10) according to a further aspect of the inventioncomprises an airfoil (12) with an attached load (14,14 p) adjacent afirst end of the airfoil (12), and a jet (270) lying between the first(12 ₁) and second (12 ₂) ends of the airfoil (12) for rotating theairfoil (12) and attached load (14, 14 ep).

An apparatus (10) for flight according to an aspect of the inventioncomprises an airfoil (12) with a payload (14, 14 ep) which is fixed tothe airfoil (12), and propulsion means (210) associated with the airfoil(12) for rotating the airfoil (12) and the payload (14, 14 ep), therebydefining a rotor disk (99). The airfoil (12) with payload (14, 14 ep)fixed thereto has no attached payload (14, 14 ep) which rotates at arate other than the rotation rate of the airfoil (12). Physical means(510) adjust the lift of the airfoil (12), and control means (410, 510)are coupled to the physical means for causing the lift adjustment of theairfoil (12) to tilt the rotor disk (99).

An apparatus (10) for flight comprises an airfoil (12) with a fixedlyattached body (14), where the airfoil (12) and fixedly attached body(14) together defining a center of mass. The attached body includespayload attachment means (810, 812; 910, 1016, 1120) for attaching apayload (14 ep) centered on the center of mass (8), which payload (14ep), when attached, is fixedly attached to the body (14). A payload (14ep) is coupled to the payload attachment means (810, 812; 910, 1016,1120), and propulsion means (210) are associated with the airfoil (12)for rotating the airfoil (12) and the fixedly attached body (14), forthereby defining a rotor disk (99). Physical means (510) are providedfor adjusting the lift of the airfoil (12). Control means (410, 510) arecoupled to the physical means for causing the lift adjustment of theairfoil (12) to tilt the rotor disk (99), and control means are providedfor controlling the payload attachment means (810, 812; 910, 1016, 1120)for disengaging the body (14) from the payload (14 ep) at selected oneof (a) time and (b) location.

An apparatus (10) for flight according to an aspect of the inventioncomprises an elongated airfoil (12) with an attached payload (14, 14ep), which airfoil (12) defines a longitudinal axis (8). Propulsionmeans (210) are associated with the airfoil (12) for rotating theairfoil (12) and the attached payload (14, 14 ep), for thereby defininga rotor disk (99). The propulsion means (210) comprises means (210, 224,230, 252, 266) for generating gas under pressure and means (270) forreleasing the gas under pressure in a direction (12 t) generally tangentto a radius of the rotor disk (99) and from a location near an end (12₂) of the airfoil (12). The propulsion means (210) in one embodiment ofthis aspect of the invention comprises an ejector (230, 266) driven by afuel grain (310 a, 310 b, . . . ), and the fuel grain (310 a, 310 b, . .. ) may generate hot gas which is partially combustible. In anotherembodiment according to this aspect of the invention, the means (210,224, 230, 252, 266) for generating gas under pressure comprises a fuelgrain (310 a, 310 b, . . . ) which, in operation, creates partiallycombustible hot gas under pressure, and a first ejector (230) into whichthe partially combustible hot gas under pressure is introduced, formixing the partially combustible hot gas with atmospheric oxygen (228),to generate hot combusted gas. A second ejector (266) receives the hotcombusted gas, and heats atmospheric gas (264) to generate the gas underpressure (GUP).

A protective package (710, 712) according to another aspect of theinvention is for individually protecting flying vehicles (10 a, 10 b, 10c, 10 d, 10 e). The protective package (710, 712) comprises a firstpiece (710) defining a cavity (set 711) in which each cavity is largerin length, width and depth than corresponding dimensions of the flyingvehicle (10). A second piece (712) is provided having dimensionssufficient to occlude or close off the entirety of the cavity(ies) (set711). Means (714) are provided for affixing the second piece (712) tothe first piece (710) so as to define with the cavity (set 711) a closedpackage containing the flying vehicle. The means may be adhesive orwelding, rivets, or any other attachment. In one embodiment, at leastone of the first plastic piece and the second piece (712) istransparent. Either the first piece (710) or the second piece (712), orboth, may be of a plastic material. The second piece (712) may bemonolithically hinged to the first plastic piece to define a clamshell.

A protective package (710, 712) according to another aspect of theinvention is for accommodating a plurality of flying vehicles (10 a, 10b, 10 c, 10 d, 10 e) and includes a first generally planar piece (710)defining a plurality, equal in number (five in the example of FIGS. 7Aand 7B) to the number of the plurality of flying vehicles (10 a, 10 b,10 c, 10 d, 10 e), of individual open cavities (710 ca, 710 cb, 710 cc,710 cd, 710 ce). Each of the open cavities (710 ca, 710 cb, 710 cc, 710cd, 710 ce) is dimensioned to accommodate one of the flying vehicles (10a, 10 b, 10 c, 10 d, 10 e). The package also includes a second piece(712) dimensioned to occlude the plurality of individual open cavities.The second piece (712) is applied to the first piece (710) to occludethe open cavities and thereby define the plurality of closed cavities.Each of the closed cavities accommodates one of said flying vehicles (10a, 10 b, 10 c, 10 d, 10 e).

A method for storing flying vehicles (10 a, 10 b, 10 c, 10 d, 10 e)according to a further aspect of the invention comprises the step ofencapsulating each flying vehicle in shrink-wrap film, and heating theshrink-wrap film to cause the film to shrink about the flying vehicle.

Another method for storing flying vehicles (10 a, 10 b, 10 c, 10 d, 10e) according to an aspect of the invention comprises the steps ofplacing a flying vehicle in each cavity (set 711) of a sheet (710)defining plural cavities (set 711), and applying a single second sheet(712) over the open side of the plural cavities (set 711) to form sealedchambers, each holding one flying vehicle.

1. A monocopter, said monocopter comprising: an airfoil with a bodyattached to a first end of the airfoil, the body including an exteriorsurface; a propulsion device associated with said airfoil for rotatingsaid air foil and said body, for thereby defining a rotor disk; acontroller for causing lift adjustment of said airfoil to tilt the rotordisk; and a holder for a deployable payload object, the holder includingat least one fixed wall extending outwardly from the exterior surface ofsaid body, said wall and said exterior surface of said body defining acavity of the body, said cavity dimensioned to accommodate saiddeployable payload object.
 2. A monocopter according to claim 1, whereinsaid holder further includes: a retainer for retaining said deployablepayload object within said cavity during stowed operation, and forreleasing said deployable payload object from said cavity fordeployment.
 3. A monocopter according to claim 2, wherein said retainercomprises a latch which withdraws to release said deployable payloadobject.
 4. A monocopter according to claim 2, wherein said retainercomprises a lip on said at least one wall.
 5. A monocopter according toclaim 2, wherein said retainer comprises an electromagnet.